Chest of Drawers 1938

Curator: Here we have Ernest Busenbark’s “Chest of Drawers,” created in 1938, rendered with pencil and drawing media. Editor: There's an undeniable warmth to this piece, a certain nostalgia. The earth tones feel inviting. Curator: Absolutely. What strikes me most is the artist’s dedication to representing form and material. Observe how Busenbark uses line and shading to mimic the wood grain; he emphasizes the objectness of this utilitarian thing. Editor: I find myself pondering the cultural significance of domestic objects like these in the late 1930s. During the Depression, the home became a site of resilience, and these simple furnishings represented a kind of stability and self-sufficiency. Curator: It’s true; this is an intensely formal study. Note the careful attention to proportion. The balance between vertical and horizontal elements is perfect. And the handles, circular interruptions, placed deliberately to interrupt what would otherwise be relentless rectangularity. Editor: While I admire its visual qualities, the “Chest of Drawers” prompts a reflection on domesticity itself. For many women, such spaces and the objects contained within symbolized confinement, and limited roles in the social arena. How do we reconcile an aesthetic appreciation for design, like this, with social critique? Curator: Ah, but form contains its own politics! Is not Busenbark calling attention to an object, and perhaps the quiet order it might imply within one's household? Editor: Perhaps, but these were also years where so many were houseless! Its celebration of contained, tidy storage reads differently when you remember those discarded from—or excluded in the first place from—bourgeois domesticity. Curator: Ultimately, Busenbark's focus lies in the precise study of shape and texture. Editor: And maybe by interrogating the image's silences, we are equipped to be thoughtful viewers.